Businesses are relying more and more on optical and/or cable optical networks to provide vital information and services to their customers. These optical networks contain various devices for sending and receiving optical between multiple locations. High speed networks, which include Gigabit Ethernet (“GbE”) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”) networks, typically require a physical layer network. Synchronous Optical Network (“SONET”), a physical layer network, is capable of transporting high speed optical over large distances to one or more destinations. SONET networks are typically deployed on a two-fiber protected ring architecture (see FIG. 1) to provide redundancy in the event of a fault or fiber break.
In a typical ring architecture, a primary ring transmits optical signals in one direction (i.e., clockwise) while a backup ring transmits the optical signals in the reverse direction. Thus, if the primary ring fails, the backup takes over. However, if both rings fail, optical signals will not be received or transmitted from on or more affected nodes. Furthermore, if a node becomes inoperable, optical signals will not be received or transmitted from the affected node. FIG. 1 depicts a situation where power has been lost at node due to a fault or other failure. Thus, node 5 has lost power (indicated by the “X”) and is not receiving or transmitting optical signals through fibers A-D, thereby adversely affecting nodes 4 and 6. For example, in 2004, hurricane Isabel caused extensive infrastructure damage, including node service outages due to power loss and damaged equipment. The service outages lasted for several days, tending to adversely affect the business operations which depend on these optical networks. In the aftermath, it is crucial for optical and cable service providers to try to restore lost communications as quickly and as efficiently as possible in order to provide quality services and to maintain customer satisfaction. However, it can be difficult to ascertain the issues and problems associated with affected nodes in the network, which can lead to lengthy and costly interruptions.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.